NFL mulling microchips in footballs for those life-or-death goal line rulings
By Vlad Savov 
posted August 6th 2010 6:09AM
posted August 6th 2010 6:09AM
[Original image courtesy of NFL.com]
posted August 6th 2010 6:09AM
A look back on popular stories from today in a specific year.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
I have rarely seen a situation in the NFL where this was applicable. All it tells you is whether the ball crosses the line. They almost always get that right. The problem is possession and 'down by contact'. Those have to be evaluated by the refs. themselves, but are generally reviewable in 1st down and goalline situations anyway.
They should spend their energy on improving the review/challange system instead.
Football(Soccer) however needs this tech....BAD! Refs. in soccer is why I never watch it even though I'm Danish.
@therunemeister *Ahem* Superbowl XL.
@jacobstevens Thats the thing. If the ball came loose, but crossed the plane when Ben was going to the ground, or when he was down by contact, then it would still be a judgement call. Hell, the system could even potentially cause touchdowns to be called in situations where it shouldn't because the ref would be to focused on the fact that the ball crossed the plane.
They got it right though in XL though. The camera was placed several feet beyond the plane and was zoomed in quite a bit. That means that when you saw it as being extremely close to the goal line or perhaps cross the plane, it was obviously did cross the plane. Basic geometry.
I understand that it can happen, but it is almost always in relation to a down by contact or similar judgement call that can't be handled by a computer anyway.
I read somewhere that in soccer, it took about a 100 years for the Football Association to allow integrating netting with the goal post.
We've still got a few more years yet till they allow action replay for the ruling. I love football...!!!
We should have robots play instead of humans also. Technology ruins sports. But, I guess so does doping, thanks to Barry Bonds and Lance Armstrong
@kyleplusitunes
Just like the home run replay ruined baseball.
Oh wait...
They should have these in soccer ball too.
Any system can be cracked. Doubly-so if there are millions of dollars to be gained.
Soon - there will be no need for a referee as technology will be the lead of the game!!
They did this in hockey and it really screwed the puck up. I doubt players will like this.
I thought about this like 10 years ago... It certainly wouldn't hurt.
Scrums happen in rugby, not football. John Madden just likes to say "that looks like an ol' rugby scrum!"
Instant replay should be where they draw the line. Playing and watching sports is about the human factor. Humans playing and humans interpreting rules and ruling on plays. With instant replay they can at least still require a decision by a person. And while I applaud precision introduced by technology, this certainly won't make the refs any better... worse if anything.
Why don't they just do what MLB has done and get the calls wrong?
MLB has embraced officiating stupidity better than any sport around.
@telstar
FIFA certainly is trying it's level best to prove you wrong, but for now I agree with you.
@telstar Remember when the televised gaes would show where the ball crossed the plate? It just illustrated how wrong almost every ball and strike call was. They turned that off because they were embarrassed at how utterly arbitrary those plate calls were.
@jimzakany
The so called strike-zone indicators used on televised baseball games are terribly inaccurate. The strike zone is not a static area, it changes for each player
Holy mixed sports batman. Football, rugby, soccer.
What was this post about?
@James5mith Cricket?! You gotta know what a crumpet is to understand cricket!
@ranhalt Or a wicket even.
@jacobstevens
Or a Quaffle...
I think that this would be an amazing idea. They use electronic timers at the combine for the 40-yard dash so it would fit right into the whole system. The NFL usually is smart about adopting technology, and quickly.
Now the Pats will never win any games. Sad.
or RFID suppositories
I've always wondered why they didn't do something like this in the NFL and even NHL...you would know exactly when the ball (or puck) crosses the goal line.
To quote Hubert Farnsworth: "No fair! You changed the outcome by measuring it!"
Nice. Go Pats!
Unintended benefit: improved productivity in the American workplace. You know how much "watercooler talk" this would eliminate? Can't whine about barn refs and bad calls...
Awesome. Five years ago, I bet a friend of mine $100 that they'd be chipping balls within 10 years. I hope this goes through or the only chip will be on my shoulder.
Ok but the ref still has to decide if it crossed before the player was down so I don't think it'll replace film but if it has some sort of time stamp it can tell the refsthe exact time the ball crossed the plain and then review the film to see if the players knees were down
I am all for this! do it do it! keep the refs as officials but use technology to make sure you get the calls rite! this is just smart.
Reading this article is how I imagine reading one written by Rachel Ray on an in depth analysis of the internal combustion engine would sound like. What say you Vlad? You follow the Vikings? And I ain't talking Minnesota
That picture is awesome... good call Savov
Hmm. No sure how I feel about this. The issue is not the benefits the technology could bring, but if this could be hacked or modified, or if something goes wrong.
Honestly, I think instant replay will suffice, so long as you get the framerate, resolution, and overall clarity on these cameras up. Hell, as a baseball fan I'd just love to see instant replay used for more than a fucking home run. Forget about putting microchips in anything, lol.
This wont work. It sounds good, it really does. But it has sooo many problems with it. The chip senses when the ball crosses a goal line, first down line, thats great. But it cannot sense when it cross the line, it cannot sense when a players knee is down, and it cannot sense when the play is dead. If the use was limited to just extreme cases where the ball can CLEARLY be seen, this is good. Otherwise, a player could be tackled short of the goal line, his knee is down, and THEN he reaches out with the ball. The buzzer goes off to the ref, who knows it passed the goal line but does not know when. Likewise if someone is at the bottom of the pile, he could just push the ball forward to the first down marker...
There are just a lot of problems with it, and the buzzing of the ref will actually encourage(human nature) them to call it a first down/touchdown more than they would normally.
maybe the technology will detect when the knee hits the ground.